Footwear



F00 TTTT R.

APPLICATION FILED M 1,303,565.` Patented MayI3,1919-.

IE7/Tanz Lamizr I all) WILLIAM H. LAMBERT, 0F CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOOTWEAR.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented .May 13, .1919.

Application led May 25` 191B. Serial No. 236.482.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I WILLIAM I-I. LAMBERT, a subject of George King of England, re-

,siding at Chelsea, county of Suffolk, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Footwear, of which the following is a speci fication.`

'Ihis invention relates ,to articles fabricated from strands of fiber, and particularly to articles of foot wear formed from strands of Manila rope.

The provision of a suitable foot covering for sailors for wear on shipboard has been traditionally' a difficult problem, of which the only satisfactory solution seemed to be to go barefoot. It is imperative that men on deck and at sea under all conditions of weather have a sure footing, upon which frequently, not only the performance of their duties, but even llife and limb depends.

Conditions on board ship, whether of wooden construction'or of steel, make the problem a varied one. Decks or other parts on which duties must be discharged are sometimes slippery, sometimes wet, sometimes extremely hot., and generally vdiii-cult for obtaining sure and comfortable footing. In times of greatest emergency, this footing is apt to be at its Worst.

. Ingeneral, the requirements are that foot wear prevent slipping, be easy and comfortable, be useful in or out of water, be undamaged by frequent wettings and dryings, afford reasonable protection against hot decks or other parts, and at the same time have suitable wearing qualities.

It is the obJect of my lnventlon to provide a foot cover which shall to a very considerable extent fulfil all these requirements.

Briefly I carry out this part of my invention by forming a shoe of Manila fiber, the same being fabricated to the desired form by a system of hitching or knotting by which I am enabled to shape a suitable foot cover, which while extremely resistant to wear and cool and comfortable, is most practicable for exposure to frequent wettings and dryings, and is extremely eflicient as a footing under the `most trying conditions. In describing my invention, I shall discuss its embodiment particularly in the form ofa shoe, although it will be understood that various forms of foot wear and other articles may be made.

' In the drawings which form a part of this I application, I have shown such a shoe and have illustrated in a somewhat diagrammatical manner'the making of the same.

Throughout the specification and drawings, like reference numerals are applied and indicate corresponding parts in the drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic sideV elevation of a shoe in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a sole.

Fig. 3 is a similar indication of the toe construction, and

Fig. 4 an indication'of a section of interhitched traverses before tightening.

In considering the form of my invention yI have selected for the purposes of illustration,4 it is to be noted, first, that an antislipping tread is desired, and that a struclture unaffected by frequent wettings and dryings is necessary. This matter of wetting and drying is is not only important as regards the shoe itself, but as regards the foot of the wearer, that is to say, if the wearer has been standing with his feet in the water and then goes out on dry footing, it is desirable that his feet dry out as rapidly as possible.

It being practically impossible to 'make an article impervious, I have contemplated in my present invention a structure, vwhich while not exactly open work as shown in the exaggerated illustration of Fig. 4, is still pervious, not only to water, but to air, so as to be practically Ventilating, thus affording a quick drying, as well as giving a margin of come and goin case of shrinking and stretching.

As regards the material contemplated in my invention, I find that fiber, particularly the long fibers such asmanila, jute, hemp and the like, have a very high wear resisting quality, at the same time being cheap and readily obtainable. I have also found, in the practice of my invention, that the strands of a rope made from such fiber afford a peculiarly adapted material on account of the twist of the strands, which persists even after unraveling. By selecting rope of suitable size and number of strands, a natural twist of the strand formed in the rope making can be secured having a proper cated this in Fig. 4 by lines 14 intended to indicate substantially a single twist to each hitch.

In considering my invention, it is necessary not only to understand the nature of traverses, it being understood that each traverse is formed of a succession of indlvldual hltches, each looped into or engaged in the loop between two adjacent hitches in a preceding traverse, as shown in Fig. 2. Each hitch may thus be said to consist of a portion of a strand' and a loop.

As a specific illustration, in starting the sole of a shoe (see Fig. 2), the strand l is laid diagonally to form a line from the ball of the foot to the base of the little toe, which is the widest part of the sole. This is done in order that it will not be necessary to widen it but only to narrow.

The first traverse is laid with a succession of hitches or single knots in which the hitches of the second traverse are engaged, the bite of each hitch being taken through a loop of a hitch of the first traverse, the hitches being'laid successively across and in a reverse direction in each succeeding traverse.

The traverse from 1 to 2 therefore, 'may be considered as the first; the traverse 2 to 3, the second; the traverse 3 to 4 the third traverse; 4 to 5 the fourth traverse., and so on narrowing toward the toe of the sole, the

toe being preferably narrowed by a decrease in the number of hitches to a single last hitch which may be considered as the final traverse at the toe of the sole.

In a similar Way, the free end of the first traverse -of the sole may be brought back and hitched successively across its own rear, as from 1 to 6, then back, as from 6 to 7, ialn 7 to 8, and so on, narrowing toward the The upper of the shoe is preferably formedby starting at the last traverse of .the toe, indicated at 9, and forming a succession of traverses, either from right to left, or left to right, back and forth across the toe and over the instep, preferably baci; to the each traverse being taken through the adjacent edge hitch of the sole. It is to be understood' thatthis method is being carried on over a suitable last of the desired size and configuration.

At the waist of the shoe it is usually desirable to fasten ofi the traverses which have become vertical or substantially vertical.

Iny the case of a shoe, as distinguished from a slipper, the traverses after vpassing the waist of the foot, the last hitch dw lproduced base of the instep may be divided, working back on two sides of the central division or front opening of the shoe.

These vertical traverses having been fastened' off, a new series of horizontal traverses parallel to the sole is begun, the first engaging with the loops and the hitches on the edge of the sole to the vertical traverse on the other side, then back in reverse to the first traverse. I have indicated at 11 the beginnig of such a heel traverse, which runs around the foot to the other side, returning on itself in a traverse 12, being continued back again in a traverse 13, and so on, until the rear part of the shoe has been built up. This permits an easy shaping in of the shoe at the narrow part of the foot. In this way I am able to construct a well shaped shoe or other article.

The fiber is preferably worked in a damp condition, and may be slightly soaped or otherwise lubricated. The bitches may be formed by a machine, which however, forms no part of this application, it being entirely possible to form such structure with considerable rapidity by hand, employing merely a needle or bodkin, or other convenient instrument, sufficiently pointed to be thrust through loops of the hitches and carrying the end of the fiber strands.

While I have described a colnplete shoe made in accordance with my invention, including the sole. it will be understood that various parts of the shoe may be made of other material, aud the shoe trimmed or eyelctcd as desired, and an additional sole may be worked on Where desired, or the shoe may be tapped.

The shoe which I have described is particularly adapted for service on shipboard. It is cheap and'light and has great endurance, even with the roughest kind of usage, as the structure is very little affected by water, and not only drys out itself, but permits the foot of the wearer to dry out. On the hot decks of battleships, onv gratings, grills and other parts, it affords a high degree of protection against heat, cold, roughness and slipperiness. It conforms to uneven foot holds and permits the foot to adapt itself to any position. Being substantially integral. it has no lines of fault or cleavage, and is readily repaired. Various applications of my invention may be made, and a great vvariety of forms and materials may be widely varied, a l without parting from the spirit of my invention, if within the limits of the appended claims.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a shoe formed of fiber rope strands, said strands being laid in a plurality of successive traverses, the strand in each traverse being formed in a succession of bitches and each hitch being taken through the loop of a bitch -in a preceding traverse.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a shoe comprising a sole portion made up of a. plurality of successive diagonal traverses', each traverse compri-sing a. plurality of bitches, the bitches of each traverse being interknotted with those of the preceding traverse, and a fore part comprising a. plurality of successive traverses or bitches laid transversely on the fore part of the foot and similarly successively7 interengaged, and a. similar heel part vertically laid in successive similar engaged traverses of said bitches.

3. As anew article of manufacture, a sboe comprising a soie portion made up of a plurality of successiae tra-verses, each traverse comprising a plurality of bitches, the bitches of each traversebeing interknotted with those of the pre-ceding traverse, and a fore part comprising a plurality of successive traverses of bitches laid on the fore part of the foot and similarly successively interengaged, and a similar heel part laid in successive similar engaged traverses of said bitches. 4. A shaped shoe formed of strands' laid in a succession of contiguous traverses said traverses interknotted one with another at a'plurality of points in such manner asto lock the formation against disintegration upon the severance of the strand in any traverse.

5. A shaped shoe formed of a single length of fibrous material laid in a continuous succession of traverses, each traverse interknotted witlra preceding traverse at a plurality of points in such manner as to lock the formation against disintegration upon the severance of the strand in any traverse.

(i. A sha 1n a' succession of contiguous traverses, each traverse intel-knotted with an adjacent traverse at a plurality of points in such manand forth between ped shoe formed of strands laid ner as to lock the formation against disintegration upon the severance -of tbe strand in any traverse, and the knots providing a substantially continuous external Wearing surface. n

7 A shaped article of fabricated structure, comprising a plurality of courses of fibrous material laid in successive contiguous traverses, eachi traverse having a succession of individual loops and saidloops engaged with the loops of an adjacent traverse in such manner as to lock the formation at a plurality of points against disintegration upon tbe severance o-f tbe strand in any traverse.

8. A fabricated shoe having a sole portion consi-sting of a plurality of successive trav- .erses, eacb traverse comprising a plurality ,of bitches, and the bitches of each traverse encircling the strand of tbe preceding traverse and extending back and forth across the sole.

9. A fabricated slice having a sole portion consisting of a plurality of successive inter-engaged traverses and having an upper formed of a succession oftraverses extending back and forth across tibetoe and instep and hitched at their endsto, the traverses of the sole.

10. A fabricated shoe upper consisting of a plurality ofsuccessive inter-engaged traverses instep portion of the shoe extending back the margins of the shoe sole, and tlhose definingtbe heel portion of the shoe extending from. side to side of the shoe and parallel to tbe sole and being hitched to the traverses defining the instep portion.

In testimony whereof -I aiix my signature in presence of t-Wo Witnesses.

WILLIAM H. LAMBERT. Witnesses:

MARY V. KEARNS, VICTORIA LoWDEN.

the traverses defining the toe and 

